Life Is Happening

Mon, 03/24/2014

Bad Antogast, Germany

People of less wisdom see others' mistakes as big and their own as small. People of little more wisdom see their own mistakes as big and others' mistakes as small. People of all wisdom see the mistakes as neither theirs nor the others'. They see mistakes as a happening which nobody can control.These are the three degrees, that is all.Less wisdom: my mistake is nothing, others' mistake is big.Little more wisdom: my mistake is very big, other’s mistake is small.True wisdom: Mistake is neither mine, not others. It's a happening.

Questions & Answers

Thank you Gurudev for constantly taking care of me, advising me, showing the way and providing help. I am achieving so much. Is there anything I can do for you?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

I think we can all do the Happiness Survey. We should go door-to-door and ask people, ‘Are you happy? If not, what is the reason?’

We have a Happiness Survey; two or three of you get together, go meet people in your area, knock on their door and say, ‘We want to do a small survey. We want to know whether you are happy. If not, what are the reasons for your unhappiness?’

If they are happy, then ask them, ‘How often are you happy?’ (Seventy percent of the time, eighty percent of the time, twenty percent of the time?) There are about seven-eight questions along these lines.

When we put forward this Happiness Survey in the last couple of months, people have had amazing experiences. The interviewer had an amazing experience, and those being interviewed also felt very good. When you do the survey, people feel that they are being cared for, and they feel so good about it.

Some people said, ‘For the first time, somebody came and asked me, are you happy? What is the reason for my unhappiness?’

One lady in her sixties said, ‘In so many years, not a single person asked me, why am I unhappy? Now I feel that there are more caring people in the world.’

You are all meditators; you all do yoga, breathing, meditation and you carry a positive glow, an energy with you. So when you go and talk to people, they already feel some energy being transferred to them. They already feel happy. We are spreading happiness in some way. And we also come to know how many people are not happy, and how we can bring happiness to them.

At the end, we have to share (details of our experience of) the Art of Living Happiness Program. If they want to do it, they can enroll and do the course also.

At a mundane level, this is a way to reach out and connect to people; it is a very good way for them to know you.

There may be some people who bang the door on your face, never mind. Walk away, smiling; that is your ego busting process.

See, even if someone does not like you, it does not bother you, it does not matter to you. Move away with a happy and smiling face to the next place.

If you visit ten people, few people may be that way (who bang the door on you), but the ones you interact with, they feel so grateful to you. They will be so grateful that you even asked them, that you took care of them. What do you say? How many of you like this idea?

Before we leave the course, we will make lots of forms in all the languages. You do the Happiness Survey, and send them to me. We will do the data analysis to make a graph and see how many people are happy in each region and what the reasons for unhappiness are in each age group. It is a good idea!

Beloved Gurudev, can you speak on the future of education? It seems our curriculum is old fashioned, not useful for work and not supporting peace in the world. Will this change and how?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

Yes, you are absolutely right! It has to change, and you and me should change it. We should put all our efforts to change it.

In India, The Art of Living has developed new educational methods for our schools. We have about 70-80 paid schools and over 400 free schools in India. (With the Euro-a-Day and Dollar-a-Day donation schemes, today we have expanded to 404 free schools with about 40,000 children studying in them.) It is such a joy to see the transformation in the children.

We have adopted a new way of teaching. They do not carry a big load of books in their bags. We teach them to be creative, and to understand the topic and the subject well.

Yes, we should do something along those lines in Europe as well. We will see.

Gurudev, why was the world created?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

For you to ask this question! If it was not created, how would you even ask this question?

We are all thinking about the creation of the world. Is a mirage created? When was it created?
Do you know what a mirage is? On a hot summer day, in the dessert, you see (the illusion of) what appears to be water, but is not. That is a mirage.

If someone says, ‘When was this water created?’ You say, ‘It was never created, it only appears.’
Similarly, this world was never created, it appears.

This is a higher knowledge, it is knowledge from Yoga Vashishtha. If it goes above the head, never mind! We can discuss that sometime later. The truth is this world was never created, it only appears.

I can't tell you more about this, it is a highly-guarded secret.

I am grateful for everything in my life; my parents, education, work, job. I am grateful for the loving, caring and kind people I have met.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

Very good. I think it is a very good way to start life. This is the way to be a lotus flower, by being grateful. Just be grateful for all that you have. The more we are grateful, life becomes much easier, better. The more we grumble, the heavier we feel, like a stone.

Gurudev, how do we spread this beautiful knowledge to the world? How do we bring back people who have already done the course but are not active?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

Happiness Survey is one way.The other is to have a physical center; people keep coming back then. We had the same question in Paris for many years. Today, I was told that since we have the Paris center, it is buzzing with so much activity. I think that makes a difference.

Moreover, teachers must make the centers more interesting. Not just make them do the Kriya and go back home, but also involve everyone in some sort of service activity.Take them all for a picnic, celebrate birthdays. Make a list of all your old participants and see who all are not coming for meditation, and satsangs. Look up their birthdays, and celebrate them. If you do all this, then why would they not come?A few of you should take a birthday cake, call and tell them that we are going to come and wish you. This is how you connect. The next time it is someone else’s birthday, they will come and join you. I think this is another way to do it.

Does the ego help us to achieve?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

Yes, in the initial stages, then it becomes a noose around your neck. It should be there in the beginning to achieve something, but then you should know how to get out of it also.

Why do women wear makeup?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

They are made-up like that!

Well, by women using makeup, so many people are getting employment, and the whole industry is thriving even in the dark economic days. When the economy goes down, one industry keeps itself up, that is makeup! That makes it up for everything.